Always With You
by Depths of Silence
Summary: ONESHOT “Why do you keep on running? You’re always running, whether it’s from us, or from yourself. Or even running after answers that you know that can only be found with time.” CloTi !after FF AC!


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, only the plot.

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**IMPORTANT:** I just want to say that English is my **_second_** language, so _please_ forgive the mistakes you're going to find here. Besides that, I must warn you I've only see FF AC yesterday, so I don't know much about this. Forgive me if the characters are OOC. Thanks for the attention. Oh, wait, this is also my _first _attempt to write something about FF so please forgive me.

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**Summary: **_One-Shot _"Why do you keep on running? You're always running, whether it's from us, or from yourself. Or even running after answers that you know that can only be found with time." (CloTi)

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**Always With You**

A very familiar childish laughter could be heard in the whole house as footsteps continued to touch the floor heavily. It was obvious that the children had once again decided to play inside the house, much for a young woman's annoyance, but she still kept quiet. She knew they were just trying to use all time they now had, in fear of seeing all those opportunities dissipating in the air at any moment.

With a content sigh the young woman continued washing the dishes, her black hair falling below her elbows with a peculiar glint while her brown eyes gazed at the door on the back. She sure hoped they were fine, although playing hide-and-seek inside four walls was the complete opposite of security.

"Don't you break anything!" the woman shouted from her place, but all that answered her was giggles and small shouts of surprise or happiness.

With another sigh the woman continued doing her chores until footsteps were heard again, and before she knew it a little girl run towards her. She barely reached the woman's waist, but she still tried to hide behind her while panting.

"Marlene, what did I tell about running inside the house?" the woman asked, looking at the girl, who had ducked behind her "Where's Denzel?"

"Please Tifa, don't tell him I'm here." the little girl begged, and the black haired woman raised an eyebrow at her in time to hear new footsteps approaching the bar. However, when Tifa looked at the door on the back, she could not help but smile slightly when a tall young man stepped inside his blond locks spiking up while his deep blue eyes were locked with the floor.

Since he was dressing black clothes people often failed to see him, especially when he was hiding on the shadows. Yet Tifa was so used to his quite behaviour that she noticed him everywhere, and could understand when he was going through _the_ moment again.

The moment when memories would squeeze his heart, and make him return back in time. To the time when, for him, he had failed…for the moment when his life had been lost…

"Cloud, have you seen Marlene?" a voice asked from behind the tall man, who looked behind him only to come face-to-face with a little boy with reddish hair and dark blue eyes "I'm looking for her."

"No Denzel, I haven't." the man replied, and his quiet answer was enough to tell Tifa that she was right. Even thought she knew Cloud was conscious that Aeris had forgiven him, the black haired woman was aware that Cloud had yet to forgive himself.

"Hello Cloud, do you need anything?" Tifa asked, unconsciously shielding Marlene with her body so that Denzel failed to see her when he passed close to the counter "You look tired."

Even though he did glance at her, showing he had heard the question, the blond man just sat down on a chair. After glancing over her shoulder, silently indicating to Marlene that she was going to move, Tifa followed Cloud and sat down beside him.

"Denzel, when you find Marlene, I want you two to find something else to do." Tifa said as she gazed at the reddish haired boy, who turned to her only to nod before continuing with his search. With a small shake of her head, the woman turned her attention to Cloud, and rested her hands on her lap "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Cloud mumbled, not looking up, and Tifa sighed before raising her right hand so she could rest her chin on it "Don't stare at me."

"Right, you would prefer if I just left you alone." the brown-eyed woman said, specks of garnet now visible in her eyes, but Cloud continued without looking at her "Why do you keep running away? Why do you always withdraw when I talk to you?"

"Tifa…"

"Aeris is always with us Cloud; she's always with _you_." Tifa whispered, gazing at the pair of blue eyes in front of her, and Cloud looked away "You know that now, so why do you keep on running away?"

"I'm not running," the man whispered, and Tifa sighed at the words "I'm just…looking…"

"Looking for what, Cloud?" the black haired woman asked in confusion, but her friend still refused to look at her "Look Cloud, you know I would like to help you, but you must let me in. I know I'm not Aeris, I'm not expecting to be her, but I still want to give it a try. But how am I supposed to do it, if you don't open up to me?"

"_A-ha!_ Found you!" Denzel shouted suddenly, and both adults looked at the counter when Marlene squealed in surprise, and with a shake of her head Tifa saw the two children run back to the house.

"I…I don't know what to do." Cloud whispered suddenly, and Tifa looked back at him again, and her expression softened when she realised how lost her friend was. She had always loved him; that was probably obvious to everyone except for Cloud himself, but at the moment that did not matter. Her love for him would keep on growing at each new dawn, but Tifa was conscious that was not what Cloud needed now.

The woman knew her friend needed someone who could help him, and even though she was not sure she was the one, Tifa was determined to give it a shot. She had always been beside Cloud, and she was not going to fail him now. Not when he most needed a shoulder…

"But you're all right now, aren't you?" Tifa asked quietly, and Cloud nodded "Why do you keep on running? You're always running, whether it's from us, or from yourself. Or even running after answers that you know that can only be found with time."

"I'm just…"

"Lost?" Tifa asked as a new wave of laughter broke the silence, and the woman glanced at the door at the back before turning to Cloud again, and slowly the man turned to her.

When their eyes met, Tifa could not help but feel something inside of her twist painfully. Even though Cloud was doing his best to be happy, the sadness in his deep blue eyes was still visible…almost palpable in Tifa's opinion.

"I was never this weak…" Cloud whispered, but the black haired woman said nothing "I hate this feeling of helplessly…I was never like this…"

"You're not weak, Cloud." Tifa finally spoke with a small shake of her head, black streaks caressing her pale cheeks, and the man silently stared at her "I know this is hard, but Aeris…she may not be in here in person, but she's always with us. She's in our hearts, Cloud, and she will never be forgotten while we live."

"I feel her sometimes…" Cloud said in a quiet voice, and Tifa felt her lips curling up into a sad smile "I know she's with me…I know she's protecting everyone, but…sometimes…"

"Cloud, everyone knows Aeris forgave you, so why do you keep punishing yourself?" the black haired woman asked, reaching out to touch her friend's shoulder, but restraining herself in time "Look around you; we finally have the chance to rest. Marlene is so happy to have you here, and Denzel! You know how much he loves you, so why don't you take the opportunity to spend more time with them?"

"Yeah, I missed being with them too." Cloud confessed, as he finally looked up, and Tifa smiled at him before nodding, but before one of the two could move, both Denzel and Marlene appeared.

"Tifa, we're hungry." both whined, making the brown-eyed woman laugh while Cloud observed the three elements of his family.

Then, still with a wide smile gracing her features, Tifa stood up, and after resting a hand on Cloud's shoulder in reassurance for a moment she followed the children into the kitchen. It was still not the right time to get romantic, Tifa was conscious of that; she had a family to take care of, to start with two famish children and her best friend, who definitely needed to understand he was not alone…

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In silence, Tifa sat down on her bed and slowly rested her legs on the mattress so that her back was leaned against the headboard. She knew she should have gone make sure Cloud was okay when she tucked both Marlene and Denzel in their beds, but for some reason she had felt that she should not. For some odd reason Tifa felt that on that night she should not bother Cloud, even though he was always sleeping when she checked on him.

With a deep breath, Tifa finally lay down on her bed, still dressed in her usual attire, and turned to the window so that her back was turned to the door. Sometimes she did wish for Aeris to be there with them, because no matter how hard it was for Tifa to admit it, she knew that Aeris was the only one who could touch Cloud's heart.

That had always been something Tifa had been afraid to do; true, Cloud and her were close friends, but the black haired woman was also conscious that the Cloud of the present was not the same one from the past. And no matter how hard she tried, Tifa could not help but feel that – sometimes – Cloud did not need her help.

"I wish you were here…" Tifa heard herself whisper into the darkness of the night, her eyes locked with the dark sky outside "Things could be easier if you were. He needs you, Aeris…"

"Tifa?" a quiet voice called-out suddenly, and the brown-eyed woman sat down on the bed in full alarm before looking at the door of her room. Her muscles immediately relaxed when she came face-to-face with Cloud, who was strangely also wearing his usual clothes, his eyes locked with the floor "May I…may I come in?"

"Of course, is there something wrong?" Tifa asked now with her legs under her body, and silently the blond made his way towards the bed "Cloud…did you have a nightmare?"

"Tifa…" when Cloud trailed off, now standing just beside the bed, Tifa could not help but feel a shiver run down her spine. Not because of nervousness, but because she was seeing one rare side of Cloud…the side of a child lost in memories, lost in a turmoil of confusion and who's desperately trying to reach for some human emotions…

Before Tifa could stop herself, she raised a hand and grabbed Cloud's before pulling him down, indicating him to sit down. She was behaving the same way she did when Marlene or Denzel were scared of something, but at the moment that did not matter. Cloud was the only thing that mattered…

"Cloud, you know Aeris is here." Tifa whispered, shifting closer to the young man, still grasping his hand "She is _always_ with around…she's always with you…"

"I know that, b-"

"_Stop_ blaming yourself." Tifa interrupted calmly, noticing that Cloud continued looking at the floor "_Stop_ behaving as if you've lost everything in your life. At least think about Denzel, he needs you. Remember when he asked if you were going to come back?"

"But I feel as if I can't protect anyone." Cloud confessed, finally looking up, his blue eyes resembling to two stars in the darkness "I failed to protect her, I failed to protect everyone…"

"You risked your life to save us." Tifa interrupted again, before squeezing Cloud's hand, her eyes locked with his "Cloud…I know what Aeris meant to you, but…why do you keep on blaming yourself when everyone has forgiven you? Even her, whose pardon was the one you were seeking for, has forgiven you, so why…?"

"I guess I'm trying to rush things." Cloud commented suddenly, looking away, and Tifa blinked at the words "Tifa, I…can I stay here?"

"The door is always opened for you, Cloud." the black haired girl replied immediately, the corner of her lips curling up into a sincere smile "You know that. Just don't make the children suffer with your absence, or I'll personally smack you."

"I know you will." Cloud replied, and Tifa could not help but feel a wave of warmth run down her body when a spark of amusement came from her friend's voice "But I…what I meant to say was…"

"Yes, you can stay here." Tifa cut short, and the blond gazed at her again "But if you snore I'll be force to push you off my bed, and I won't be gentle when doing it," as she spoke, Tifa slowly shifted to the side and patted the vacant space beside her "And don't you dare to tell the children I was the one who was scared of sleeping alone."

"I promise." Cloud whispered, lying down on the mattress, and Tifa quickly mimicked his actions "Thank you…"

"For what?" Tifa asked as she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, lying on her side so that she was facing the young man. She was not seeing him, but Tifa knew he was looking at her "I did nothing."

"Thank you for always being by my side." Cloud replied, and Tifa reopened her eyes before smiling, a warm twinkle on her eyes "You and…Aeris…both of you have always been with me."

"We'll be always with you, Cloud." Tifa whispered still smiling, and for a second she could have swore she had seen a ghost of a smile gracing the young man's face before he had closed his eyes "Always."

Then, as time continued to pass by, both friends closed their eyes and drifted to sleep. What they failed to notice was the two small silhouettes that appeared at the door, and quickly made their way towards the bed before lying down in the middle of the two adults.

Then, for the first time, everything was at peace…

**The End**

Ok, I know this sucked, so please _don't_ send me any flames. This was simply my first (and probably last) attempt to write a FF fic. So please, if you want to leave a review remember, be gentle with me » smiles nervously «. Thanks for the attention.


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